"Of course, they pick the guy who's terrified of heights to do this," Gallagher said to start the fourth episode of the sixth season of "Quest for the Stanley Cup," a seven-part, all-access series. The episode premieres Friday at 6 p.m. ET on ESPN+ in the United States and YouTube.com/NHL in Canada.
"I think it was my second year (2014), we made it to this point, haven't been back since," Gallagher said of the Canadiens, who defeated the Vegas Golden Knights in six games in the Stanley Cup Semifinals to advance to the Final.
"It takes a lot of work, a lot of sacrifice, a lot of disappointment along the way. It's been since 1993 since the Stanley Cup has come back home to Canada. It's not going to be easy, but to be able to bring that back home would be pretty special."
Meanwhile, in Uniondale, New York, former Islanders defenseman Denis Potvin walks onto the ice at Nassau Coliseum before the Islanders play the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 4 of their best-of-7 semifinal. Potvin, who won the Cup with the Islanders four straight seasons from 1980-83, reminisced on those days, especially the 1980 Cup win at home.
"When you're able to win in front of your own fans, it's phenomenal," he said. "Our parents, our friends were here, holding the Cup, my father's drinking out of it, my mother's helping me lift it. the first one was great.
"Cups two and three, we were a well-oiled machine by then. It was just working. The fourth one was even better, beating the Oilers in four straight [games] when we had 'no chance' of winning. Those were the best days of my life, playing hockey."